I am quite new to this and put the question originally in the 'problem solving' section but had no replies. Please can anybody help ... this is a very healthy looking 4 yr.old weeping cherry and has been pruned once. At the moment a few of the branches are dragging on on the ground and concealing the back of my small garden. I believe this is not the ideal time to prune but without harming it, could I cut back 2 or 3 branches now? I do have some sealing material which I could paint on the cuts.

Last year I thought I had lost my lovely tree as it was seeping gum. However, pruned it in the autumn and treated the cuts with a special sealent and this year it has made enormous progress to the point that on one side particularly it is trailing on the ground in a couple of places and beginning to turn up too.

My question is, would it be safe to cut these extremely long branches and seal them in June? My garden is only small and they are hiding all the plants behind them.

Blossom End Rot is certainly what it is, we have just noticed the tomatoes have also got it!! The plants have been fed on a weekly basis but the Engllish weather is so unpredictable and when the sun comes out for just a short while the conservatory can get up to 90 to 100 degrees even with windows & the door open. This makes the timing of watering very difficult, so guess this has been the problem, fluctuation of temperature.

Thanks so much for your detailed information Italophile (most impressed)